The United States government wants money from BioNTech‚ which partnered with Pfizer to develop an mRNA COVID-19 injection‚ filings indicate. The Epoch Times reports the German company received a notice of default from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) on March 22nd. “BioNTech SE (the ‘Company’) previously disclosed that the Company was in discussions with the National Institutes of Health (‘NIH’) concerning royalties and other amounts allegedly owed on sales of the Company’s COVID-19 vaccine since commercialization‚ and that the NIH had delivered a communication threatening to send a notice of default under its license agreement with the Company. On March 22‚ 2024‚ the Company received a notice of default from the NIH relating to alleged amounts owed and breaches under such license. As previously disclosed‚ the Company disagrees with the positions being taken by the NIH‚ and intends to vigorously defend against all allegations of breach‚” one of the forms read. “The U.S. government is trying to force a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer to hand over money‚ the manufacturer said in new filings. BioNTech received a notice of default from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) on March 22‚ BioNTech said in one of the forms. The notice… pic.twitter.com/nYEEtGPz0s — Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 29‚ 2024 The Epoch Times reports: BioNTech and Pfizer developed one of the world’s most-used COVID-19 vaccines. More than 366 million doses have been administered in the United States alone. A notice of default is a precursor to legal action. The NIH did not respond to requests for comment. BioNTech did not respond when asked for a copy of the notice of breach. The Epoch Times has filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for the notice and license. The NIH said in 2021 that it licensed a version of the COVID-19 spike protein to BioNTech in 2020. In another recent filing‚ BioNTech said‚ “We may disagree from time to time with licensors or collaborators regarding‚ among other things‚ the interpretation of each party’s obligations or the amounts payable under our agreements. Their #1 customer was the government‚ who was also their #1 salesman—who was also the owner of their product’s patents. Let that sink in. pic.twitter.com/LXa2wtgb8Y — Te𝕏asLindsay (@TexasLindsay_) March 29‚ 2024 From Fierce Pharma: In an annual filing a few days earlier‚ on March 20‚ BioNTech said it was in “ongoing discussions” with the NIH “concerning royalties and other related amounts allegedly owed on sales of our COVID-19 vaccine since commercialization.” At that point‚ the NIH had only threatened to send a notice of default‚ according to BioNTech. BioNTech has generated around 40.5 billion euros ($43.9 billion) since starting its COVID-19 vaccine rollout with partner Pfizer in late 2020‚ so any amount owed could be quite substantial for the company. Last week‚ BioNTech said it entered this year with cash‚ cash equivalents and security investments totaling 17.7 billion euros ($19.2 billion). In a 2021 report (PDF)‚ the NIH provided some background behind the BioNTech arrangement. After government and academic researchers published an engineered version of the the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in early 2020‚ the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases began receiving a “significant amount of interest” from companies looking to incorporate the research into their vaccine development‚ the NIH said. Multiple government agencies worked together and determined that because of the urgency of the situation‚ they would allow for nonexclusive licenses. A licensing deal with BioNTech in 2020‚ and the company’s subsequent partnership with Pfizer‚ yielded the successful Comirnaty vaccine‚ the NIH said.